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PET 


TOH/JNN/I SPYRl 

^yTuihor of Heidi 


Translated by 
HELEN B. DOLE 


NEW YORK 

THOMAS Y CROWELL CO 
PUBLISHERS 


Copyright, 1919, by 
THOMAS Y. CROWELL COMPANY 


OCT 17 1919 


©CI.A5»5357 


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CONTENTS 


CHAPTER 


PAGE 

FIRST 

At Willow- Joseph’s House . 

. . 9 

SECOND 

New Acquaintances . 

. . 20 

THIRD 

What Keeping Silent Does . 

. . S 3 

FOURTH 

What the Dear Lord Sends 

. . 47 

FIFTH 

Christmas . . . . 

. . 59 


\ 


\ 


CHAPTER FIRST 

AT WILLOW-JOSEPH’s HOUSE 

W HERE lovely, green willow-clad hills 
rise, one after another, and the inter- 
secting valleys are covered with gleam- 
ing red and blue Summer flowers, there lies the 
little village of Altkirch. The neat, white church 
with the red tower, and the wooden houses round 
about, lie protected from every wind, in the green 
vale, for at the back of the village and from both 
sides, rise steep hills, and only the front side is 
free and open. This looks across towards the 
green height of Rechberg, on the wood-crowned 
summit of which another village with its white 
stone houses, shines afar, and like the mountain 
bears the name of Rechberg. 

Between the hills the wild Ziller brook rushes 
along, bringing on its journey down from the 
mountains, much wood and stone, in its troubled 
waters. 

A highway leads from Altkirch to Rechberg, 
but it makes a long journey. First it zigzags 
down the mountain to the Ziller brook, then over 
9 


10 


LITTLE CURLY-HEAD 


the old covered bridge, and on the other side it 
again zigzags up to the village of Rechberg, in 
all good five miles long. A shorter and much 
pleasanter way is by the narrow foot-path, which 
leads straight over the mountain down to the 
brook, and straight across the narrow wooden 
bridge which spans the rushing torrent. The 
bridge is so narrow only one person at a time can 
go over it, and it is well that there is a railing 
on both sides, by which one can hold on firmly, 
for it is so lightly built it trembles and yields so 
much with every step, that the traveler feels’ quite 
unsafe as he crosses it. 

Not a house is to be seen in any direction on 
all the green hills around, except on the last where 
the steep foot-path goes down to the brook, there 
stands a lonely chapel, looking down upon the 
rushing water from ancient times, and the bridge 
so often carried away and newly built again. 

There are many poor people in Altkirch, for 
there is very little work there. Most of the men 
go as day-laborers to the farms in the neighbor- 
hood; a few own a bit of land which they culti- 
vate. Only two or three peasants in the village 
have enough land to keep a few cows. 

One of the poorest families was that of Willow- 
Joseph, in the old tumble-down cottage, standing 


AT WILLOW-JOSEPH’S HOUSE 11 


opposite the chapel on the foot-path and quite 
alone. The cottage is almost covered with the 
long overhanging branches of an ancient willow- 
tree, which had spread out more and more until 
it had at last wholly surrounded it. From this 
tree the owner was called Willow- Joseph. 
He had always hved in the cottage, for it had 
belonged to his father, who had lived there a long 
time before. Now Willow- Joseph was himself 
an old man, and lived in the cottage with his aged 
wife, who had been ill for a good while, and his 
two grandchildren. 

Willow- Joseph had an only son, Sepp, who 
had always been a good-natured, but rather shift- 
less and unsteady man. 

Where he was living now, the old parents did 
not know, for he had gone away from home six 
years before and little had been heard from him 
during that time. Sepp had married very early 
in life, and his parents had been glad, for his wife 
was the good industrious Constance, whom every- 
body hked. She was also good-looking and as 
she went quietly on her way, working con- 
scientiously, she was equalled by few. She kept 
everything in beautiful order about her hus- 
band’s house, and Willow- Joseph and his wife 
had good times as long as their daughter was 


12 


LITTLE CURLY-HEAD 


with them. She worked from early until late 
and did not let the parents lack for anything. 
She said father and mother must now rest, as 
they had done enough, and they two young 
people must give the old ones happy days. 

Sepp went to work every day on the big farm 
the other side of the brook and on Saturday 
brought home a good sum of money. Every- 
thing was so well ordered and went on its lovely 
course in health and happiness that Sepp became 
a very steady man and had no desire to depart 
from it. 

Three years passed thus in undisturbed happi- 
ness, and old Father Klemens, who lived in the 
long old house back of Altkirch and often came 
to Willow- Joseph’s cottage, said many times; 

“Joseph, it is good to live at your house. No 
unkind words are heard there. Honor your 
Constance!” 

And his kind eyes lighted up with joy, when 
Constance, neat and trim as she always was, came 
in and welcomed him with her merry voice, and 
little Stanzeli in her arms would hold out her 
tiny hand while he was still some distance away, 
to Father Klemens. Then he would say again: 

“Yes, surely, it is good to hve with you, 
Joseph!” 


AT WILLOW-JOSEPH’S HOUSE 13 


When Stanzeli was two years old little Seppli 
came into the world. This was a great joy for 
all, but soon after the greatest sorrow that could 
happen came to Willow- Joseph’s house. Con- 
stance died and left her husband and little chil- 
dren, causing a gap that never more was filled. 

From that time on Sepp ran about aimlessly. 
A restless and unsteady spirit came over him 
again; he could no longer stay at home on Sun- 
day, as he formerly was so glad to do; it drove 
him farther and farther away, and at last he de- 
cided if he could go away altogether and find 
other work, far off, it would be better for him. 
He promised to send his parents from time to 
time a good sum of money to provide for them 
and his children ; then he went away. 

For some time he kept his promise and sent the 
contribution. Then it ceased and for six years 
they had known nothing more about him, neither 
where he had gone, nor even if he was still alive. 

Meanwhile both parents had kept growing 
weaker and poorer. The only small earnings 
left to them was derived from little baskets 
which the grandfather wove from the willow 
twigs and gave every Friday to the dairy man, 
who carried his cheese to market in the town. 
The grandfather did not make much from his 


14 


LITTLE CURLY-HEAD 


baskets and the grandmother had to portion out 
every slice of bread, to get along from one day 
to another. 

Stanzeli was now almost nine, and Seppli 
seven years old, and Stanzeh had to help her 
grandfather in everything he did, for her grand- 
mother had been sick in bed for four months, and 
could do nothing more. So the grandfather and 
Stanzeli had to do the cooking together every 
day, but this was not very extensive for there was 
nothing cooked but corn-meal mush and potatoes, 
and very rarely a httle coffee. But it needed 
both of them to prepare the food, for Stanzeli 
was too small still to lift the pots and the grand- 
father did not always know how to mix things 
for cooking, while Stanzeli knew this quite well. 
So they always worked together in the kitchen, 
and Seppli usually stood also in the little room 
where the two could hardly move without getting 
in each other’s way, and gazed in wide eyed ex- 
pectation at the grand things which were pre- 
pared there. And neither the grandfather nor 
Stanzeli tried to keep Seppli out of the little 
kitchen, for they knew very well that he would 
be back again in two minutes, for Seppli had re- 
markable persistence in many ways. 

A beautiful, warm September sun was shining 


AT WILLOW-JOSEPH’S HOUSE 15 


outside over the green hills around Altkirch. 
Even a few beams fell through the opaque win- 
dow panes on the grandmother’s bed. 

“O God!” she sighed, “is the sun still shining? 
If I could only go out once more! But I would 
be still if my bed was not as hard as wood and 
nothing more in my pillow. And when I begin 
to think of the Winter, if I must lie here so on 
the hard sack, under the thin little cover and 
without a good pillow, I shall die of cold. I 
am cold already.” 

“You mustn’t worry about the Winter yet,” 
said the grandfather soothingly; “Our Lord will 
still be alive then; He has ‘helped us many times, 
when things looked bad, you must not forget 
that. What do you say if we make a little drop 
of coffee to warm you up?” 

The grandmother was glad to drink a little 
cup of coffee, and the grandfather opened the 
door into the kitchen, for you went directly into 
it from the room where the grandmother’s bed 
stood. A little flight of stairs behind the stove 
led up to the sleeping room, where the grand- 
father slept with the children. Then he beck- 
oned to Stanzeli to come, and immediately Seppli 
followed after, for he had to see what was going 
to be prepared to eat. Outside the grandfather 


16 


LITTLE CURLY-HEAD 


took down the saucepan from its place and 
poured water into it. Then he said : 

“Stanzeli, what do you do first?” 

“First I must grind the coffee-beans,” ex- 
plained the child and immediately sat down with 
the old coffee-mill on the stool and turned it with 
all her might. But there was something wrong 
with it, and she examined it in first one way and 
then another, and finally drew out the little 
drawer carefully underneath. Instead of the 
fine powder she ought to have found in it, were 
big pieces almost half coffee-beans. Stanzeli, in 
horror, held out the drawer to her grandfather, 
and showed him the trouble. Her grandfather 
looked at the damage and- tried to keep her quiet, 
saying : 

“You mustn’t make any noise, for your grand- 
mother to hear, or she will be troubled and think 
she can’t have any more coffee to drink. Just 
wait a little.” 

Whereupon the grandfather went out and soon 
came back with a big stone in his hand. With 
this he broke and crushed the coffee-beans on a 
paper, and then Stanzeli shook the coarse pow- 
der into the saucepan. But when the grand- 
mother took her cup in her hand, she exclaimed 
pitifully: 


AT WILLOW-JOSEPH’S HOUSE 17 


“Oh dear! oh dear! big grains are floating on 
the top, the coffee-mill is broken. Oh, if she 
had only brought it to me. We are not able to 
buy a new one.” 

But the grandfather said in a soothing tone: 

“You mustn’t make yourself sick about it. 
With patience many things are made right.” 

“Yes, indeed, but no coffee-mill,” complained 
the grandmother again. 

Stanzeli and Seppli each had a little cup of 
coffee, and some pieces of potato, for they had 
bread only on Sunday, each a small piece. 

Then the grandfather brought out his baskets, 
which he had finished weaving, tied them to- 
gether in pairs with a string and placed a little 
bundle of them in each child’s hand. Then he 
told the children to go along with them, and 
charged them not to be too late in coming home. 
They knew where they had to go with the baskets, 
for every two weeks they went to the dairyman’s 
on such an errand. He lived quite far from the 
village. They had to go over the hill, past the 
chapel, up to the woods, where his cottage stood. 

The children now started and since Stanzeli 
always went on her way conscientiously, Seppli 
had to follow, even when he would like to stop 
and look at one thing or another. When they 


18 


LITTLE CURLY-HEAD 


came to the chapel, Stanzeli stood still and said: 

“Lay the baskets here on the ground, Seppli; 
we must go into the chapel and say the Lord’s 
Prayer. They can lie here until we come out.” 

But Seppli was obstinate. 

“I will not go in, I am too hot,” he said and 
sat down on the ground. 

“No, Seppli, come. You must come in,” com- 
manded Stanzeli. “Don’t you know that Father 
Klemens said when you went by a chapel you 
must always go in and say a prayer? Stand up 
and come quickly!” 

Seppli remained obstinately sitting on the 
ground. But Stanzeli gave him no rest. She 
took him quite anxiously by the hand and pulled 
him up. 

“You must come, Seppli. It is not right to 
do so. You ought to want to pray.” 

At that moment some one came up from be- 
low to the chapel. Suddenly Father Klemens 
stood before the children. 

Seppli sprang to his feet in a twinkling. The 
children offered their hands to the Father. 

“Seppli! Seppli!” he said very kindly, as he 
pressed his hand, “what did I hear? You will 
not follow Stanzeli, when she wants to go into 
the chapel with you? I will tell you something. 


AT WILLOW-JOSEPH’S HOUSE 19 


You see, it is not a command of our Lord’s, that 
we should go into the chapel to pray, but it is a 
privilege that we may pray to Him so. And 
every time when we do this. He sends us some- 
thing, which we cannot always see right away.” 

Then the kind priest continued on his way and 
Seppli went without further opposition with 
Stanzeli into the chapel and said his prayer 
reverently. After sometime when the children 
had come out again, they heard loud voices and a 
heavy panting sounded up the foot-path, which 
descends very steep to the brook. 

Then one after another three heads came into 
sight, first a little girl’s head, and then two boys’ 
heads, and then all at once three children stood 
before the other two and they all looked at one 
another with mutual astonishment. 


CHAPTER SECOND 


NEW ACQUAINTANCES 

T he little girl who had just appeared 
was the largest of them all. She must 
have been quite eleven years old and the 
larger of the brothers a little over a year 
younger, while the other was considerably 
smaller, but very stockily built. 

The little girl came a few steps nearer the chil- 
dren and said : 

“What are your names?” 

The children mentioned them. 

“Where is your home?” asked the child fur- 
ther. 

“In Altkirch, there. You can see the church 
tower,” replied Stanzeli, pointing to the red 
tower between the hills. 

“So you have a church too ! We have a church 
like that, but it is closed and we only go in on 
Sunday. But we have no chapel like that. 
There stands one higher up. Just see, Kurt, 
away up in the woods.” 

The little girl pointed up with her finger and 
20 


NEW ACQUAINTANCES 


21 


her brother nodded to show that he saw what she 
wished him to. 

‘T should like to know why you have such 
chapels here on so many of the hills.” 

“So that you can go in and pray, when you 
pass by,” said Stanzeli quickly. 

“You can do that any way,” replied the other 
little girl; “you can pray anywhere, wherever 
you are, for the dear Lord hears us everywhere, 
that I know.” 

“Yes, but you don’t think you ought to pray, 
until you come to the chapel, then you know right 
away, and do it too,” replied Stanzeli earnestly. 

“Now we must go, Lissa,” urged her brother 
Kurt, for this conversation was too long for him. 

But Lissa did not hurry at all, she enjoyed 
making this acquaintance, and Stanzeli pleased 
her because she made such decided answers and 
had just said what Lissa could not deny, for she 
knew it herself. It was really so : it never came 
into her mind to pray and thank the dear Lord, 
when she went out for a walk and was happy, 
although she had just said decidedly to Stanzeli 
that you could pray everywhere. All at once 
the chapel made a new impression on Lissa, for 
until now she had looked upon it as only a 
building, standing there merely because it had 


22 


LITTLE CURLY-HEAD 


been placed there a long time before. She had 
never thought that to-day it was still making a 
definite call to every one who passed by. Now 
it was as if the dear Lord pointed down from 
Heaven to the chapel and said : 

“There it stands, so that you may think of me.” 

As Lissa, absorbed in thought, did not speak 
for a long time, Stanzeli continued : 

“And it is not like a command, but rather a 
favor that we may go in and pray, for when we 
do so, the dear Lord always sends us something, 
although we cannot see it. Father Klemens 
said so.” 

“Yes, but I would rather have something I can 
see,” broke in Seppli, who had remained standing 
by Stanzeli and had listened attentively. 

“Do you know Father Klemens too?” asked 
Lissa, quite delighted, for he was well known to 
all the children on the other side of the Ziller 
brook for a long distance, and their good friend. 
Wherever he was seen by them, in his long cloak, 
the big crucifix hanging at his side, they would 
run to him from every direction to shake hands 
with him, and he would immediately take out his 
old pocketbook from his full robe and give a 
lovely, bright-colored picture to each one. Lissa 
had already received many of them, with rosy 


NEW ACQUAINTANCES 


23 


angels, scattering flowers, and others with a bush 
full of blooming roses, and a little bird sitting 
on the very top, and many others besides, so the 
name of Father Klemens called up the dearest 
memories. 

“He lives near us in Altkirch, up in the old 
monastery, and he often comes to see us,” Stan- 
zeli informed them. 

“Yes, and he often brings grandmother a 
whole loaf of bread,” added Seppli, in whose 
memory this fact stood out very clearly. 

“Now we must go, it is still a long way to the 
dairyman’s,” said Stanzeli, as she took up her 
bundle of baskets, and gave Seppli his. 

“Will you come to see me sometime, in Rech- 
berg?” asked Lissa, who wanted to continue the 
new acquaintance a little further. 

“I don’t know the way. I have never been on 
the other side of the brook.” 

“Oh, that is very easy to find, only come early 
some Sunday afternoon,” said Lissa encourag- 
ingly. “Then we can play until evening. You 
have only to go along the path below, and up and 
up, to the very highest point, and there is Rech- 
berg, and the big house, that stands all alone 
above all the rest, is our house. So come then!” 

Then the children parted. Stanzeli went with 


24 


LITTLE CURLY-HEAD 


Seppli up the mountain and Lissa looked around 
for her brothers for she had heard nothing of 
them for a long while. Kurt had climbed up 
into the old fir tree, standing next the chapel, 
and was swinging boldly back and forth on a 
rotten limb, which cracked suspiciously so that 
Lissa watched with interest to see whether Kurt 
would soon come down with the branch, which 
seemed more amusing than dangerous. 

Not far from the tree lay little fat Karl 
stretched out on the ground fast asleep, and so 
fast asleep that Lissa’s loud calls to get up were 
entirely lost on him. But now there came some- 
thing tumbling down the hill that suddenly 
brought Kurt from the tree and Karl to his feet. 
It was a big flock of sheep, old and young, big 
and small: all were swarming, hopping, jumping 
together and beside them the big sheep dog ran 
barking so loud and emphatically to prevent any 
from being lost, that Karl was immediately 
wakened and sprang up quickly to look at the 
passing crowd. 

The shepherd drove his flock past the children 
towards Altkirch. The three looked in silent 
amazement at them as they went by and their 
eyes could not take in enough of the merry gam- 
bols, which the pretty young lambs made beside 


NEW ACQUAINTANCES 


25 


their mothers, who looked carefully after the 
little ones, lest they should run away mischiev- 
ously from the others and be lost. 

When the flock had almost passed out of sight, 
and only the old sheep were left running after 
the others, Karl, still lost in astonishment, drew 
a long breath and said : 

‘Tf we only had a little lamb like them!” 

That was exactly what Kurt and Lissa 
thought, and all three were wholly agreed, which 
was seldom the case. Lissa at once proposed to 
return home quickly and to beg their papa and 
mamma to grant their request and give them a 
lamb. Then she pictured to her brothers how 
it would be if they could take the lamb every- 
where with them and lead it up to the pasture 
and always see its merry gambols and watch it 
carefully as the old sheep did ; and all three with 
the prospect of such a possession became so de- 
lighted, that they rushed down the mountain 
with all their might and ran over the bridge, Lissa 
going first. Behind her followed Kurt, and both 
bounded so high over the lightly built bridge that 
it tottered and trembled under their feet, and the 
loose boards laid on it sprang up and down, so 
that Karl following after lost his footing and fell 
in the middle of the bridge, and almost plunged 


26 


LITTLE CURLY-HEAD 


into the rushing brook. Kurt turned around 
and pulled him up, and since Lissa had already 
come to solid ground, the bridge no longer 
swayed up and down and the brothers came 
safely to the other side. 

The way from there up to Rechberg was quite 
far, and it took the children a good three quarters 
of an hour before they came to the last steps and 
saw the lights from the windows in their house 
shining towards them, for it had meanwhile 
grown quite dark. 

Already for an hour past the magistrate’s wife 
had walked anxiously to and fro, first from the 
room out on the stone steps of the house, then 
down into the garden, looked around and then 
turned back, and after a little while, took the 
same walk over again. 

She had not seen anything of the children since 
dinner and they were usually at home by four 
o’clock at coffee-time or even sooner. Their 
mother had allowed them to spend the free Sat- 
urday afternoon up in the woods, so they had 
run off all three of them in high spirits directly 
after dinner. But now it had grown quite dark 
and still not a sound of the children was to be 
heard anywhere. Where could they have been 
delayed so long? Or could something have hap- 


NEW ACQUAINTANCES 


27 


pened to little Karl, who was not quite so strong 
on his feet? Every possible anxiety rose in the 
mother’s mind and she ran more and more rest- 
lessly out and in and to all the windows. 

But now — there were their well-known voices ; 
they sounded quite excited although still far be- 
low. The mother ran out — ^to be sure, they were 
coming up the hill, and as the children caught 
sight of her, they ran pell-mell one after the 
other, each trying to be the first to tell her their 
experience, but little Karl was now quite far 
behind. Kurt and Lissa rushed towards their 
mother almost together and were about to relate 
everything at the same time, but at that moment 
a loud voice sounded from the other side : 

‘‘Come to supper! Come to supper!” 

It was the voice of the magistrate, who had 
just returned from his business and had strict 
household regulations. 

When they were all quietly seated at the table, 
they began their story, but now it was not so easy, 
for the children had first to explain what had 
happened that they had not come home at coffee- 
time as they ought. 

Finally it came out that Lissa had found it 
too dull in the little woods and had proposed that 
they climb up to the old linden tree. Since from 


28 


LITTLE CURLY-HEAD 


there they could look down on the old chapel and 
the Ziller brook and the narrow foot-path, Lissa 
had an irresistible desire to run there at once 
and see it all near to, for she had a pleasant 
memory of the swaying and trembling of the 
bridge on an earlier excursion there. The 
brothers consented and the journey was under- 
taken in haste. Finally it had proved to be 
much farther than it had appeared. 

When the children had confessed the forbidden 
journey, which was followed by a warning not to 
carry out such a sudden idea again, then came 
the whole story in full force, first about the 
chapel, then the two children, then the flock of 
sheep and afterwards everything all over again 
from the beginning and in still greater detail. 
Finally came the description of the jolly crossing 
over the brook, and what had happened there. 
This description naturally resulted in their 
father’s strictly forbidding any future expedi- 
tions to the Ziller brook. The swaying bridge 
was a contrivance, against which the magistrate 
had long protested, but still the rickety means of 
crossing remained. 

“Karl, the fat, is resting after his day’s work, 
and yours must come to an end too,” said their 
father, shaking the chair next him a little, on 


NEW ACQUAINTANCES 29 


which Karl had fallen asleep, for he had made a 
great exertion. But it was not so easy to break 
this first good sleep, and the father seized the 
chair, and carried it together with the sleeper 
into the bedroom, and the other children fol- 
lowed him jumping and shouting at the huge 
joke. Finally their mother came and had no 
end of trouble to wake up the one and quiet the 
others. 

From that day on, no breakfast, dinner or 
supper passed that the children did not break 
forth one after another and in every tone, with 
these words : 

“If only we had a little lamb!” 

Finally the magistrate had had enough of it. 

One evening, when the mother was sitting with 
the children around the table, and little Karl, 
who was somewhat bored by the studies of the 
older ones, had just said for the sixteenth time: 

“If we only had a little lamb — ” suddenly their 
father opened the door wide and in sprang a real, 
live lamb. The little creature was covered with 
curly snow-white wool and the prettiest the chil- 
dren had ever seen. Such shouts of delight, such 
a noise was raised in the room that not a word 
could be understood, for the lamb ran bunting 
and bleating from one corner of the room to the 


80 


LITTLE CURLY-HEAD 


other, because it could find no way out and all 
three children ran after it, screaming with de- 
light. But suddenly sounded their father’s loud 
voice : 

“Now, that is enough! First of all the little 
lamb is coming to its brand new stall and you 
come too, and listen to what I have to say.” 

The children went out with the lamb. They 
wondered very much where the new stall for the 
little creature could be, and how it looked. 

To be sure, there was a little partition of brand 
new boards put up in the back of the stable, and 
in it lay fine, soft straw for the lamb to sleep on. 
A little crib had also been brought in, where they 
could throw grass and hay for the creature and 
other good things, which would taste good to it. 

When the lamb had been put to bed on the 
straw, and lay quite still, only breathing a little 
anxiously, the father said it must now go to 
sleep, closed the low door, and beckoned the chil- 
dren to follow him. 

Inside the room he sat down, placed the three 
children in front of him, raised his fore-finger 
high and said earnestly : 

“Now listen to me well and think about what 
I say. I have taken the little lamb away from 
its mother, to give it to you. Now you must 


NEW ACQUAINTANCES 


31 


take the mother’s place, watch over it carefully 
and tend it so that it will be content with you and 
not die of homesickness. You may take it out 
in every free hour, to play with you and go to 
walk with you. You can take it to the pasture 
so it can crop the grass for itself; you can go 
with it wherever you like. But never must you 
leave the little creature alone, not for a moment, 
for it is still too small to find its way; it would 
run away at once, and never find its stall and 
miserably perish. Whoever takes it out of the 
stable, must keep it under his eyes until he brings 
it back again to its place. Have you understood 
me well and will you care for the lamb exactly 
as I have said, or if you would rather not, tell 
me and I will take it to-night back to its mother?” 

The children all three cried out, that their 
father should leave the lamb with them. They 
would not give it back at any price. All three 
promised from their hearts, and with all sincerity, 
to Watch over it and care for it, as their father 
required, and never for a moment to leave the 
creature standing or running alone, and each one 
assured him that he himself would always bring 
back the lamb to the stable, when it was time, 
for that would be the greatest delight. But their 
father said that would be unsafe; it must be de- 


32 


LITTLE CURLY-HEAD 


cided that whoever took the lamb out must bring 
it back again and so it must remain. Once more 
the children promised to treat the lamb exactly 
as their father had ordered, and all three gave 
him their hand on it, and all three were so full of 
excitement at the prospect of having a live lamb 
to keep for their own, that they could not go to 
sleep that evening for the longest time. Even 
sleepy little Karl sat quite upright in his bed and 
exclaimed again and again to Kurt : 

“Papa shall see that the lamb will come to no 
harm with us, I will look out for that.” 


CHAPTER THIRD 

WHAT KEEPING SILENT DOES 

T he principal question on the following 
day, was what name to give the lamb. 
Lissa proposed to give it the name of 
“Eulalia,” for her friend’s cat was called this, 
and the name seemed to her especially grand. 
But her brothers wouldn’t listen to that, for they 
thought it too long. Kurt suggested the name 
Nero, as the big dog he so much admired down 
at the mill was called. But Lissa and Karl 
wouldn’t have the lamb called by the same name 
as the dog with the broad nose. Then they con- 
sulted their mother about it, and she suggested 
that the little creature be called “Curly-Head,” 
after its own peculiarity. The children agreed 
at once to this name, and so it was called from 
that time on. The pleasure all three took in the 
pretty white Curly-Head surpassed every other 
joy and amusement. In every free moment it 
was taken out of its stall and led around here 
and there. 


33 


34 


LITTLE CURLY-HEAD 


Sometimes all three children went out together 
and took Curly-Head up to the pasture or to 
the woods, and sat down there with it. Some- 
times Lissa would sit on the bench and the little 
creature would lay its head trustfully in her lap, 
while Kurt and Karl would run to the nearby 
clover field and bring some of the fine spicy 
leaves, which Curly-Head would eat with the 
greatest satisfaction, first from the hand of one 
and then from that of the other, bleating very 
contentedly meanwhile. 

At other times one of the children would go 
alone to take the lamb out of the stable and bring 
it along to walk, if some errand had to be done at 
the mill or the baker’s or the old washwoman’s. 
Then the lamb always went gladly by the side 
of its leader, and seemed to understand quite 
well what was said to it by Kurt and Lissa and 
especially by its great friend Karl, on these 
walks. It would answer now and then with an 
assenting joyful bleat and at the same time look 
up at its companion so understandingly, that 
there was no doubt that Curly-Head always took 
a lively part in the conversation. Every day it 
became more trustful and affectionate with the 
children. It would always press close to the one 
who took it out of the stall, as if its own mother 


WHAT KEEPING SILENT DOES 35 


had come, and the children loved it more and 
more every day and 'cared for it and watched 
over it, and always after their walks and happy 
conversation brought it back to its little house 
in the stable, and to its nice bed of straw. 

Curly-Head grew so finely with this excellent 
care that it became as round as a ball, and with 
its snow-white curly wool looked as pretty and 
clean as if it were always wearing its Sunday 
dress. 

Thus the beautiful, sunny Autumn came to 
an end, and November had arrived more quickly 
than the children had ever known it before. 
Now they could begin to talk about Christmas, 
since the festival would be coming in the very 
next month. Kurt and Karl could easily unite 
the pleasures of the present to the hopes of the 
future and bind them into a double enjoyment. 
So they took a constant delight in their Curly- 
Head and on every one of their walks told it 
about all the wonderful times that Christmas 
would bring them and all the things they secretly 
expected from the Christ-child. Curly-Head al- 
ways listened very attentively and the brothers 
did not fail to give it the expectation of surely 
having its share in the Christmas presents. All 
three for the most part enjoyed these wonderful 


36 


LITTLE CURLY-HEAD 


prospects together and became each day more 
and more confidential with one another. 

Lissa had a little different disposition. When 
a new and great delight was in prospect she be- 
came so excited about it, and all' her thoughts 
were so full of it that the old pleasures were a 
little in the background. 

Now Lissa had a particular friend in the big 
farm-house on the path down to the brook, the 
agreeable Marie, who always entered into all 
Lissa’s ideas. Lissa was eager to visit this friend 
now because she could discuss with her quite 
otherwise about her hopes and expectations for 
Christmas-time, than with her brothers, who 
cherished such different wishes and did not un- 
derstand hers aright. 

Her mother allowed her to make the visit, and 
on the first free afternoon Lissa was to go. She 
had hardly patience enough to hold still, while 
her mother wound around her neck a warm scarf, 
which the cold November wind made very neces- 
sary. Then she ran and bounded away and her 
mother watched the child until she was half-way 
down the hill, then went back into the house. 

In a moment it occurred to Lissa that the way 
was rather long and it would be less tiresome 
to take Curly-Head for a companion, if her 


WHAT KEEPING SILENT DOES 37 


brothers had not already taken her away. She 
turned quickly round, ran to the stable, found 
Curly-Head lying quietly on the straw, took it 
out quickly and ran with it down the barren path 
over which the wind blew the bright-colored 
Autumn leaves around her. Their continual 
running brought them in a short time to the end 
of their journey. Soon Lissa walked out with 
her friend, absorbed in deep conversation, back 
and forth in the sunny place in front of the house, 
while Curly-Head nibbled contentedly by the 
hedge which surrounded the garden. The friends 
refreshed themselves between long discussions, 
with sweet pears and juicy red apples, which 
were at hand in rich abundance, for Marie’s 
mother had brought out a whole big basket full 
of the fruit, and what the children couldn’t eat, 
Lissa was to take home. It had always been so, 
for on the farm grew beautiful apples* and pears 
in great quantities. 

When it was time for Lissa to return home, 
her friend started along the path to accompany 
her, and they still had so much to say that they 
came to the last little ascent to Lissa’s father’s 
house, they knew not how. Marie departed 
quickly and Lissa hurried up the path. It was 
already quite dark. When she reached the 


38 


LITTLE CURLY-HEAD 


house, it went through her mind like a paralyzing 
flash: 

“Where is Curly-Head?” 

She knew she had taken it along, then had seen 
it grazing by the hedge, and then had entirely 
forgotten it and paid no more attention to it. 
In the most terrible fright she rushed down the 
mountain, calling in every direction: “Curly- 
Head! Curly-Head! Where are you? Oh, 
come here! Come here!” but all was still, 
Curly-Head was nowhere to be seen. Lissa ran 
back to the farm-house. There was already a 
light from the windows of the living-room. 
From the stone steps she could see very well 
inside. They were all sitting at the table at 
supper, father, mother, and Marie, her broth- 
ers, the servants, and on the seat by the 
stove lay the old cat. But nowhere was a sign of 
Curly-Head to be seen, as Lissa spied into every 
corner. Then Lissa ran around the house, into 
the garden, all around the hedge and again into 
the garden, and then all along the hedge inside, 
always calling “Curly-Head, come here! Oh, 
come here!” It was all in vain; there was no 
sign of the lamb to be seen or heard. Lissa’s 
anxiety increased more and more. It grew still 
darker and the wind howled louder and louder. 


WHAT KEEPING SILENT DOES 39 


and almost blew her off the ground. She must 
go home. What should she do? She did not 
dare tell that she had lost Curly-Head, because 
she had forgotten it. But she would tell her 
mother. She ran as fast as she could up the 
mountain. At home everything was ready for 
supper, even her father was there. Lissa came 
running into the room, so red and hot and dis- 
heveled, that her mother said : 

“You cannot come to the table so, child; go 
and make yourself tidy.’’ 

And her father added : 

“Above all you must not come home so late! 
Now hurry and come right back at once or you 
will have nothing to eat.” 

Lissa obeyed quickly. She suddenly felt that 
she would much rather not return to supper at 
all, but that would not do. She came back to her 
place dejected. She was frightfully anxious 
about what further remarks and questions would 
be made. But before any one could address a 
word to her the attention of all the members of 
the family was taken by a new occurrence. 

Hans, the man-servant, put his head in at the 
door and said : 

“With your permission. Magistrate, although 
the children are all in the house, as Trina said, 
the little lamb is not in the stable.” 


40 


LITTLE CURLY-HEAD 


“What?” exclaimed the Magistrate. “Here’s 
a pretty state of things! Who took it out? 
Who did it?” 

“I didn’t!”— “I didn’t!”— “Surely I didn’t!” 
— “I didn’t either!” screamed Kurt and Karl 
so noisily together, that no one could hear 
whether Lissa kept silent or cried out. 

Their mother said to quiet them: 

“Don’t be so noisy. It surely cannot have 
been Lissa. In the afternoon she ran off alone 
to her friend Marie’s, and only came back a few 
minutes ago.” 

“Then it is one of you two,” quickly spoke their 
father, as he cast a penetrating look towards the 
two boys. 

A terrible outcry was raised in reply : 

“I didn’t do it !” — “I didn’t do it !” — “I surely 
didn’t” — and both gazed with such big, honest 
eyes at their father, that he immediately ex- 
claimed : 

“No, no, you are not the ones. Then Hans 
must have left the stable door open, where the 
lamb was, and it must have run out at that mo- 
ment. But it seems to me so unlikely, I must 
go and see.” 

Their father left the room, in order to investi- 
gate outside in the stable. 


WHAT KEEPING SILENT DOES 41 


When the excitement, the accusations and the 
defense were over, another impression gained the 
upper hand. Suddenly Karl laid his head on 
his arm and sobbed aloud and mournfully : 

“Now Curly-Head is lost — ! We shall never 
have it again. Now it will starve to death!” 

Then Kurt began. He cried aloud: “Yes, 
now it is growing colder all the time, and it won’t 
have anything to eat and will freeze and starve 
to death.” 

Then Lissa began to weep and groan harder 
than the other two. She didn’t say a word, but 
one could hear how much keener and deeper 
than her brothers, her grief was, and Lissa welt 
knew why. 

Later on when Kurt and Karl had long been 
asleep on their pillows and were having happy 
dreams about Curly-Head, Lissa lay restless in 
her bed and could not go to sleep. Not only 
was she mourning for the misfortune to the lamb, 
now wandering about distressed and neglected in 
the night, but she blamed herself for it and be- 
sides she had kept silent when she should have 
confessed. 

Lissa had indeed not cried out: “I didn’t do 
it! I didn’t do it!” but she had kept silent when 
her mother had said confidently: “Lissa cannot 


42 


LITTLE CURLY-HEAD 


have done it,” and the child felt decidedly that 
she had done the same wrong to keep silent, as 
if she had told an untruth. Lissa was very un- 
happy and could find no consolation and no rest, 
until she made up her mind to tell her mother 
everything in the morning; perhaps then Curh"- 
Head would be found. 

On the following morning there was bright 
sunshine, and it was at once decided at breakfast, 
that they would all three go out, as soon as school 
was over, to look for Curly-Head, for it must 
be somewhere about. In the afternoon they 
would do the same, and all were convinced that 
the lamb would be found before evening. Their 
mother said to console the children that their 
father had sent Hans out very early to look 
everywhere for the little creature, so there was 
every hope that it would be found again. Lissa 
was the happiest over this prospect and thought 
that she wouldn’t need to say anything now, and 
that everything would turn out all right again. 

That day the whole of Rechberg was searched 
for the lamb, and in every home inquiries were 
made about it, but it was as if Curly-Head had 
disappeared from the earth. Nobody had seen 
it, nowhere was any trace of it to be found. For 
some days further they searched and inquired for 


WHAT KEEPING SILENT DOES 43 


it, but always in vain. Then the Magistrate 
said they had done enough, and it was useless to 
hunt any more, for either the poor little creature 
was no longer alive or else it had strayed far 
away. 

A few days after, the first snow fell, and the 
flakes came down so big and thick that, in a short 
time the whole garden lay deep in it, and the 
white covering rose half-way up the hedge. 
Every year the children were hugely delighted 
at the first snow, and always shouted and 
screamed the louder, the more the flakes whirled 
around. 

Now they were quite still and one would peep 
here and another there out of the window, and 
each in the stillness thought of Curly-Head, if it 
were lying somewhere under the cold snow, or 
wanted to wade out and couldn’t, and was call- 
ing in its well-known voice piteously for help and 
no one heard and helped it. 

Then their father came home at evening and 
said: 

“It is a bitter cold night, the snow is already 
frozen hard. If the poor lamb is still outdoors 
and not dead already, it will perish to-night. I 
wish I had never brought the poor creature 
home!” 


LITTLE CURLY-HEAD 


Karl broke into such a cry of lamentation and 
Kurt and Lissa, filled to overflowing with their 
grief, joined in as if their hearts would break, so 
that their father left the room, and their mother 
tried to comfort them as well as she could. 

From that time on the Magistrate never spoke 
of the lamb again, and their mother talked to 
them about the beautiful Christmas festival 
whenever they began to mourn for Curly-Head. 
She told them the Christ-child was coming to 
make every heart glad, and that this festival was 
coming soon and would make them happy again 
too. 

When the sympathetic Karl would begin to 
mourn again on cold, dark evenings: “If only 
Curly-Head wouldn’t freeze or shiver to death 
outside!” then his mother would say consolingly: 

“See, Karl, the dear Lord cares for the little 
creature. He can prepare a warm bed some- 
where for Curly-Head and let it be well with it. 
And although it is no longer with us, and we 
can’t take care of it, let us be happy and give 
Curly-Head into the dear Lord’s hands.” 

Kurt listened attentively while his mother was 
consoling Karl, and so it came about that the 
brothers gradually became quite happy again, to 
leave Curly-Head entirely to the dear Lord and 


WHAT KEEPING SILENT DOES 45 


His care, and every day they looked forward more 
gladly and with fuller expectation to the beauti- 
ful Christmas time. But Lissa was not happy 
with them. On her lay as it were, a heavy weight 
completely crushing her, and that would never, 
never more let her be happy. At night she 
dreamed she saw Curly-Head half starved and 
frozen, lying out in the snow, and looking up at 
her with such sad eyes, saying: 

“You did this!” 

Then Lissa would wake crying and later, 
when she wanted to be merry with her brothers, 
she couldn’t, for she kept thinking all the time: 
if the two knew that she had done it, how they 
would reproach her! She no longer dared look 
her father and mother straight in the eyes, for 
she had kept silent when she ought to have con- 
fessed to them, and now she couldn’t let it pass 
her lips, for she had let her parents believe for so 
long that she knew nothing about the matter. 

So Lissa never had a happy moment more, 
and every day she looked sadder and more sor- 
rowful and when Kurt and Karl came to her 
and said: 

“Cheer up, Lissa; Christmas is coming nearer 
every day, and just think of all that can hap- 
pen!” then the tears would come at once into 
Lissa’s eyes, and half crying she would say: 


46 


LITTLE CURLY-HEAD 


‘T can’t be happy any more, never, never 
more, even at Christmas time.” 

This seemed too sad to the sympathetic Karl, 
and he would say to her, quite consolingly : 

‘‘See, Lissa, when you can’t do anything more, 
give everything up to the dear Lord, and then 
you will be happy again, if you haven’t done any- 
thing wrong. Mamma said so.” 

Then Lissa would begin to cry in good earnest, 
so that Karl became frightened and he ran right 
away, as Kurt had aLeady done before, for it 
seemed to them very disagreeable that Lissa was 
so changed. 

But Lissa’s altered behavior did not escape her 
mother. She often watched the child for a long 
time in silence, but she asked her no questions. 


CHAPTER FOURTH 

WHAT THE DEAR LORD SENDS 

N ovember came to an end. The 
snow had become still deeper, and every 
day the cold became more intense. The 
grandmother in Altkirch pulled her thin bed- 
covering this way and that, for she could hardly 
keep warm any longer under it. The room was 
also cold, for there was only a very small supply 
of wood, and in this deep snow no brushwood 
could be found. Coffee was seldom made and 
the beans had now to be crushed always with 
stones; the mill was forever useless, and there 
was no money for a new one. The poor grand- 
mother had much to mourn over and complain 
about. The grandfather sat most of the time on 
the bench by the stove, trying to console her 
misery and weaving his little baskets the while. 

As long as it continued to snow, and the deep 
snow was soft, the grandfather had been obliged 
to carry his baskets himself to the dairyman, for 
if he had sent the children, they would have stuck 

fast in the drifts. There was no road broken 
47 


48 


LITTLE CURLY-HEAD 


out up the mountain, so the grandfather had 
trouble to get through, he sank so many times 
deep in the snow-banks. 

But now the sky was clear, and the high snow 
fields were frozen hard far and wide, so that one 
could go over them as over a firm road. Not 
once under the heaviest man did the ice-crust 
crack. Now the children could be sent again on 
their errand. Stanzeli wrapped a shawl around 
her, Seppli put on his woolen cap, and then they 
started off each with a bundle of baskets on the 
arm. After a good half hour, when they came 
to the chapel, Stanzeli laid her baskets down 
and took Seppli by the hand to go inside. But 
Seppli was obstinate again: 

‘T will not come, I will not pray now. My 
fingers are freezing,” he asserted and planted his 
feet on the ground, so that Stanzeli should not 
move him forward. But she begged and pulled 
him and reminded him what Father Klemens had 
said and was quite distressed as if Seppli would 
prevent some great good to them both. Stanzeli 
had already heard and understood so much about 
trouble and misery, that it seemed to her a great 
good fortune and consolation, to be allowed to 
kneel down and pray to a father in heaven, who 
would help all poor people. Seppli at last 


WHAT THE DEAR LORD SENDS 49 


yielded and they went into the silent chapel. 
Stanzeli said her prayer softly and reverently. 
Suddenly a strange plaintive cry sounded 
through the great stillness. A little frightened, 
Stanzeli turned to Seppli and said softly: 

“Don’t do so in the chapel. You must be 
quiet.” 

Just as softly but cross Seppli replied: 

“I am not doing it. You are.” 

In a moment the cry sounded again, but 
louder. Seppli looked searchingly at a place by 
the altar. Suddenly he seized Stanzeli by the 
arm and pulled her with such force from her seat, 
and to the altar, that she could do nothing but 
follow. Here, at the foot of the altar, half cov- 
ered with the altar cloth, under which it had 
crawled, lay a white lamb, trembling and shiver- 
ing with cold, and its thin little legs stretched 
out, as if it couldn’t move any longer, from 
exhaustion. 

“That is a sheep. Now something has been 
sent to us, that we can see,” explained Seppli 
with delight. 

Stanzeli looked at the animal with great as- 
tonishment. The words of Father Klemens at 
once came to her mind, and she did not doubt 
that the dear Lord, who sends something to every 


50 


LITTLE CURLY-HEAD 


one who prays, had sent the lamb to-day to them. 
Only Stanzeli didn’t quite understand why it 
was lying there so feeble and half dead. She be- 
gan to stroke the little creature, and to show it 
that is mustn’t be afraid, but it coiild hardly 
move and only from time to time gave a very 
pitiful cry. 

“Let’s take it home and give it a potato: it is 
hungry,” said Seppli, for hunger was the only 
evil he could think of and this had made him cry. 

“What are you thinking about, Seppli? We 
must go up to the dairyman’s,” the dutiful 
Stanzeli reminded him. “But we can’t leave it 
here so alone,” and the child looked thoughtfully 
at the little animal, breathing with such difficulty. 

“Now I know something we can do,” con- 
tinued Stanzeli, after a few minutes’ considera- 
tion. “You watch the lamb here, and I will run 
as fast as I can up to the dairyman’s and come 
right back and then we will go home !” 

Seppli agreed to the proposal and Stanzeli 
immediately ran off, and shot over the snow field 
like a doe. 

Seppli sat down on the fioor and looked with 
satisfaction at his present. The lamb was cov- 
ered with such lovely thick wool, that shivering 
Seppli felt a desire to put his cold hand into it. 


WHAT THE DEAR LORD SENDS 51 


and it grew so warm, he quickly put in the other. 
Then he drew close to the lamb and it was like a 
little stove for him, and although it was shiver- 
ing with the cold, its woolen pelt was a splendid 
means of warming Seppli. 

In a short half hour Stanzeli came running 
back again, and the children in their delight then 
wanted to take their present home to their grand- 
father and grandmother. But they tried in vain 
to bring the lamb to its feet, it was so weak, it fell 
right over again, when they had lifted it a little 
and then it moaned pitifully. 

“We must carry it,” said Stanzeli, “but it is 
too heavy for me; you must help me,” and she 
showed Seppli bow to take hold of the lamb 
without hurting it, and so they carried it away 
together. They went rather slowly, for it was 
quite awkward to walk with the burden between 
them, but the children were so delighted with 
their present, that they didn’t stop until they 
reached home and then rushed into the room with 
their surprise. 

“We have brought a lamb, a live lamb, with 
very warm wool!” cried Seppli as he entered, 
and when they were wholly inside the room, the 
children laid the lamb down beside their aston- 
ished grandfather on the bench by the stove. 


52 


LITTLE CURLY-HEAD 


Then Stanzeli began to relate how it had all hap- 
pened, and how it had happened exactly as 
Father Klemens had always told them, that the 
dear Lord sent every one who prayed something, 
only it could not always be seen. 

“But to-day it can be seen,” broke in Seppli 
with delight. 

The grandfather looked at the grandmother to 
see what she thought about it, and she looked at 
him and said : 

“What do you think about it, Joseph? Tell 
me. 

After some reflection the grandfather said: 
“Some one must go up to Father Klemens, and 
ask him what he thinks. I believe I will go my- 
self.” Whereupon he got up from his seat, put 
on his old fur cap and went out. 

Father Klemens came back with the grand- 
father. After he had greeted the grandmother 
and spoken a few kind words with her, he sat 
down beside the little lamb lying there almost 
dead, and looked at it. Then he placed Stanzeli 
and Seppli in front of him and said: 

“See, children, it is so; when a man prays, the 
dear Lord sends him a happy and trustful heart, 
and that is a beautiful gift, and on that depend 
many other good gifts. But the lamb here has 


WHAT THE DEAR LORD SENDS 53 


lost its way. It may belong to the big flock, 
which passed by late in the Autumn, and the 
shepherd will be asking for it. It must have 
been lost a long time for it is quite starved and 
almost dead. We may not be able to save its 
life. First we must give it a little warm milk, 
and then see what more it can take.” 

The kind Father with these last words had 
lifted the lamb a little and gently laid his hand 
under its head. 

Then the grandfather said hesitatingly : 

“We will do what we can. Stanzeli, go and 
see if there is a little milk left.” 

But Father Klemens prevented Stanzeli 
from going out, saying: “I think you needn’t 
go. If it is all the same to you, I will take the 
lamb home with me. I have room enough, and I 
can care for it.” 

This was a great relief to both the old people, 
for they didn’t want to let the lamb die of hunger, 
and they didn’t know where to get anything to 
feed it. 

Then Father Klemens took the feeble lamb on 
his arm and went with it up to the old monastery. 
Seppli watched him for a long time and grumbled 
a little. 

After a few days the grandfather saw Father 


54 


LITTLE CURLY-HEAD 


Klemens coming to his cottage, and said wonder- 
ingly to the grandmother : 

“Why do you think the good Father is coming 
to us again?” 

“The lamb must be dead, and now he will tell 
us, that we mustn’t expect a penny of reward 
from the shepherd,” remarked the grandmother. 

Father Klemens came in. One could see that 
he had no glad tidings to bring. Stanzeli and 
Seppli came bounding towards him to give him 
their hands. He stroked both kindly, then said 
softly to the grandfather: ^ 

“I think it is best for you to send the children 
away for a little while, as I have something to 
tell you.” 

This was somewhat disturbing to the grand- 
father, and he thought to himself: 

“If I could only get the grandmother out of 
the way for a little, so she wouldn’t hear if some- 
thing unpleasant has to be told.” 

He put the tin can on Stanzeli’s arm and said : 

“Go now with Seppli and get the milk, and if 
it is still too early, you can wait at the farm. It 
is warm in the cow-shed.” 

When the children had gone, the Father 
pushed his chair nearer the grandmother’s bed 
and said: 


WHAT THE DEAR LORD SENDS 55 


“Come a little nearer too, Joseph, I must tell 
you both something, but I do it unwillingly. 
Sepp has done something wrong.” 

He had scarcely spoken these words when the 
grandmother made a fearful outcry and said 
over and over again : 

“Oh, my God, that I should live to see this! 
It was my last hope that Sepp would still turn 
round and come home, and stand by us in our old 
age, and now it is all over with. Perhaps we 
shall have to bear a great disgrace and yet we 
have lived to old age in honor and good report. 
Oh, how willingly I would stop grumbling and 
lie on my hard bed without complaint, and never 
more have a good drop of coffee, if only this 
wouldn’t have to happen to Sepp! Oh, if only 
he hadn’t brought misfortune and disgrace to 
himself and us !” 

The grandfather too sat there looking very 
much alarmed and cast down. 

“What has he done. Father?” he asked 
hesitatingly. “Is it something wicked?” 

The Father replied that he didn’t know at all 
what it was; he had only learned that Sepp had 
done something wrong over across the Ziller 
brook and it had been brought to the Magistrate 
in Rechberg, who was going to have him put in 
prison. 


56 


LITTLE CURLY-HEAD 


“Oh, my God, did it happen up there?” the 
grandmother broke forth again. “Oh, what will 
be done to him! He will surely punish him 
severely enough because he has a different be- 
lief.” 

“No, no, you mustn’t take it so, grandmother,” 
interrupted the Father in defense, “that is not so. 
The Magistrate is not unjust, and he thinks well 
of the faith. I have myself more than once heard 
him say: ‘A pious and God-fearing man on this 
side of the Ziller brook and such an one on the 
other side both pray to the same Father in 
Heaven, and the prayer of one is exactly as ac- 
ceptable to Him as that of the other.’ I have 
known the Magistrate up there for many years, 
and I can tell you that I have many hundred 
times had edifying conversations with him and 
his wife, as we sat together, and we have under- 
stood each other so well that we always get along 
perfectly and I reproach myself when I haven’t 
been there for a long time. Now I have it in 
mind to go there very soon and to see how it 
stands with Sepp, and to speak a good word with 
the Magistrate for him.” 

Both the old people were very glad and thank- 
ful for this plan, but the grandmother began to 
grieve again and said mournfully : 


WHAT THE DEAR LORD SENDS 57 


‘Tf only I hadn’t done wrong, so that this mis- 
fortune might not have come to us, because I 
complained and grieved over little things. But 
I will surely do it no more and will be patient. 
Father Klemens. What do you think? Will 
our Father in Heaven take away my penance 
and not punish me so hard?” 

The Priest comforted the grandmother and ex- 
horted her to keep her good resolutions. Then 
he rose and promised her to come again as soon 
as he had been up to Rechberg and could bring 
news of Sepp. 

The grandfather accompanied the Father to 
the front of the house; then he asked: “And 
how is it with the little lamb? Is it living still, 
or is it dead?” 

“Not at all dead,” replied Father Klemens 
gladly, “round and full, and already jumping 
about merrily, and it is such a trusting little 
creature, that I shall be sorry to give it up, when 
the shepherd comes by again. I have sent him 
word that the lamb is with me, so he will prob- 
ably leave it until he comes into the neighbor- 
hood, and now God bless you!” 

The Priest shook the grandfather’s hand and 
went hastily away, for he had to comfort other 
sick people who were anxiously waiting for him. 


58 


LITTLE CURLY-HEAD 


In all Altkirch and far beyond, kind Father 
Klemens was the comforter of all the poor and 
sick. 


CHAPTER FIFTH 


CHRISTMAS 

T he longed for Christmas day had come. 

From early morning Kurt and Karl had 
wandered in a fever of excitement from 
one room to another and up and down stairs and 
nowhere could they find a resting place, for the 
over-powering sense of the approaching good 
fortune drove them round and round. By con- 
stant motion they had the feeling that they could 
reach the evening more quickly. 

Lissa sat quite still in a corner and gave no 
response when her brothers came to her and 
wanted her to join in their exalted hopes. Lissa 
had never experienced such a Christmas day. 
Usually how full of happy unrest and burning 
expectation she was! How full of gladness and 
joy she was, for she knew nothing more splendid 
than these hours of expectation and then sud- 
denly their fulfillment! The fulfillment of all 
the many, many wishes in the brilliant glory of 
the lights! Now she sat there and wanted to be 
happy like her brothers. But a pressing weight 
59 


60 


LITTLE CURLY-HEAD 


as it were, lay on her, stifling every feeling of joy, 
and although she tried to force herself to throw it 
off and forget it all, and take delight in the 
evening, as before, it seemed to her as if she sud- 
denly heard some one coming, who had found 
Curly-Head dead and knew that she had lost it 
and forgotten it, and was going to tell her father. 
Then she crept deeper into the corner and list- 
ened hard, and all joy was gone; it came no more 
into her heart. 

Towards evening Kurt and Karl had finally 
found a moment of rest, or rather the excitement, 
which had now reached its highest point, had 
brought them both together on one chair, where 
in pleasant expectation they only ventured to 
speak together in low tones. 

“What do you suppose about a croquet-set 
with colored balls?’’ whispered Karl. “Do you 
believe the Christ-child will think of that?” 

“Perhaps,” answered Kurt softly, “but do you 
know what? I would much rather He would 
think of a new sled, for you see the ‘Kessler’ 
doesn’t go well and then we have only the 
‘Geiss,’ and if Lissa gets to be happy again, you 
will see how she will coast, that I know, and then 
we shall never have the ‘Geiss,’ and there isn’t 
room enough for us both on the ‘Kessler.’ ” 


CHRISTMAS 


61 


‘‘Yes, but think of the fort. Do you know, 
Kurt, how many thousand times we have wanted 
a fort?” reminded Karl, “we would almost 
rather go without a sled, don’t you think so ?” 

“Yes, indeed,” said Kurt hesitatingly, for a 
new thought had come to his mind. 

“Or supposing the Christ-child should bring 
us a box of colors and we could paint the big 
soldier picture-sheets ?” 

“Oh, oh!” groaned Karl, impressed with the 
charming possibility. 

Then their mother came into the room. 

“Children,” she said, beckoning with her 
finger, “in there the lights are burning by the 
piano. Now we are going to sing a song. 
Where is Lissa?” 

In the twilight her mother had not noticed that 
Lissa was sitting in the corner, nor did her 
brothers know it. She hadn’t made a sound. 
Now she came out and all went over to the piano. 
Then their mother sat down and played and be- 
gan to sing. Kurt and Karl joined in at the top 
of their voices and Lissa sang very softly. And 
when they came to these words in the song: 

“Jesus is greater, Jesus is greater 
Who fills our sad hearts with joy.” — 


62 


LITTLE CURLY-HEAD 


Karl sang with such deafening gayety that one 
could see he had no sad heart at this time. But 
Lissa had felt what it is to have a sad heart. She 
sobbed and sobbed and couldn’t sing any more. 
When they had sung to the end of the song the 
mother rose and said : 

“Now stay here quietly until I come back.” 
But Lissa ran after her and cried pitifully: 

“Mamma! Mamma! Can’t I ask you some- 
thing?” 

Her mother led the child into her sleeping- 
room and asked what she wanted. 

“Mamma, can Jesus make every single sad 
heart glad again?” asked Lissa anxiously. 

“Yes, child, every one,” answered her mother, 
“every one who leans on Him. Only He can’t 
make those happy who cling to wrongdoing and 
will not give it up.” 

Then Lissa broke into loud crying : 

“I will not cling to it any more,” she sobbed. 
“I will tell you. I took Curly-Head away with 
me and then forgot it and lost it, and then I kept 
silent about it, and I am to blame for its starving 
and freezing and I can’t be happy any more, 
about anything.” 

Then her mother drew Lissa to her affection- 
ately and said consolingly: 


CHRISTMAS 


63 


“Now you know, dear child, how a wrong that 
we keep fast in our hearts makes us frightfully 
unhappy. You must remember that, and never 
do so again. But now you have repented, and 
the holy Christ can and will enter your heart 
and make you happy again, for to-day He will 
make all hearts glad. Now wipe your tears 
away and go to your brothers. I will come to 
you soon.” 

Such a weight was lifted from Lissa’s heart, 
and she felt so light and free, that she wanted to 
jump over all the mountains. All of a sudden 
she keenly realized: 

“To-day is Christmas! What great things 
may happen to-day?” Everything in her re- 
joiced. But one single shadow still rose at times 
in her heart: Curly-Head! Where could the 
starved Curly-Head be lying? 

When Lissa ran jumping to her brothers, they 
were very much surprised, but Karl said : 

“I am glad you are like this. I thought you 
would be happy again at Christmas.” 

Then Lissa had to give vent to her happy ex- 
citement and freshly awakened hopes to her 
brothers ; but in the midst of her eager communi- 
cations, the door-bell rang louder and louder, and 
Karl, snow-white with excitement, exclaimed: 


64 


LITTLE CURLY-HEAD 


“The Christ-child r’ 

Immediately the mother opened the door and a 
flood of light came in from outside — the children 
rushed towards it. 

Then it streamed and shimmered and sparkled 
around, and from its wonderful splendor one 
could hardly tell what it all was. But in the mid- 
dle stood a big fir tree with bright, glistening 
lights from top to bottom on all the branches, and 
rosy angels and shining Summer birds hovering 
around the lights, and red strawberries, and shin- 
ing cherries, and golden pears and little apples 
hanging from all the twigs, and the children ran 
in speechless delight to and fro around the tree. 
But all at once something came running in and 
suddenly Lissa was almost thrown down; she 
gave a huge cry of joy and — really there was lit- 
tle Curly-Head! Round as a ball, lively and 
roguish, it rushed to Lissa and rubbed its little 
head against her and bleated loud for joy. Kurt 
and Karl hurried along at the well-known sound 
and could hardly believe what they saw. Curly- 
Head, neither hungry nor frozen but quite alive 
and merry, was there again! They hugged it 
tight for love and joy. 

But Karl now caught sight of something. He 
gave a high jump to one side: 


CHllISTMAS 


65 


‘‘Kurt, Kurt,” he screamed, “the fort! the 
fort!” But Kurt had already jumped to the 
other side and called back: 

“Come here! Come here! Here is the new 
sled! Oh, what a splendid sled!” And as Karl 
ran to look, he cried out again: 

“Oh! oh! there is the box of colors! Oh, so 
many brushes in it!” 

Lissa kept hugging and caressing little Curly- 
Head for its return was to her the dearest gift. 
Oh, how happy she would be now! Everything, 
everything that had troubled her was past, every- 
thing was all right again! How was it possible? 

All at once Lissa saw two eyes, wide open, 
gazing at the shining tree in motionless wonder. 
That must really be Seppli. Lissa rose from 
the floor, where she had been squatting beside 
Curly-Head — to be sure, there was Stanzeli too 
beside Seppli looking in astonishment at all the 
brilliant splendor. Lissa went to the children. 

“Did you come to see me to-day, Stanzeli?” 
she asked. “Isn’t the tree beautiful? Did you 
know the Christ-child would come to-day?” 

“Oh, no! oh, no!” said Stanzeh quite shyly and 
softly, “but your mother brought us in. To-day 
Father Klemens said the lamb belonged to you, 
and we might bring it up here.” 


66 


LITTLE CURLY-HEAD 


‘‘So did you bring little Curly-Head? But 
where from, Stanzeli? Where was it then? 
How can it be so well and look so?” 

Then her mother came and said to Lissa she 
would tell her all about it, but now she must 
bring the children to the table by the window, for 
the Christ-child had remembered them too. But 
at first no urging could move Seppli from the 
spot, for he had never in his life seen such a shin- 
ing tree with alluring, shimmering, wonderful 
things on every bough. He couldn’t turn his 
eyes away from it. He took absolutely no step 
forward although the invitation sounded entic- 
ing. Finally Lissa said: 

“Just come, Seppli. There by the table you 
can see the tree quite splendidly, and besides, 
you can see what the Christ-child has brought 
you.” 

Then Seppli moved slowly and without taking 
his eyes from the tree. But the table gave him 
a sight he had not expected. On a plate lay the 
largest ginger cake he had ever seen, and round it 
lay red apples and a big pile of nuts. And near 
these lay a strong knapsack in which he could 
carry everything he needed for school so that 
nothing would be lost. And the book, and slate 
and pencil and everything he would need from 


CHRISTMAS 


67 


Easter on was inside. Next it lay a good strong 
jacket for Seppli, such as he had never had be- 
fore in his life. When Lissa said, “These be- 
long to you, Seppli,” he stood as if petrified, by 
the table and looked first at Stanzeli to see if she 
believed it was true, and then again at his treas- 
ures. 

Neither could Stanzeli look enough at the 
warm little gown and the wonderful fitted work- 
box, standing together beside the plate of ginger 
bread. 

But now she was frightened, for the Magis- 
trate came straight to her with a man, who had 
been standing by the door with Hans and Trina, 
and said : 

“Look over there. She really doesn’t know 
you any more.” 

Then he went away. 

The man held out his hand: 

“Give me your hand, Stanzeli,” he said; “don’t 
be so strange to me ! Your eyes look exactly like 
your blessed mother’s. Come, speak, Stanzeli. 
I am your father and you look exactly like her.” 
And he had to wipe his eyes again and again. 

“We have only a grandfather and a grand- 
mother,” explained Seppli, who had been watch- 
ing everything. 


68 


LITTLE CURLY-HEAD 


“No, no, surely, Seppli, you have a father too, 
and I am he,” said his father, taking each of the 
children by the hand. “I will surely prove it to 
you, but you must know me. Stanzeli, won’t 
you be friendly with your father? You have 
grown to be exactly like your mother.” 

The man had to keep wiping his eyes. 

“Yes, I am now,” said Stanzeli timidly, “but 
I don’t know you at all.” 

The Magistrate from a little distance had been 
watching the little group by the table, and now he 
stepped towards them again. 

“Sepp,” he said earnestly, “I know a father 
and a mother too, who are grieved because their 
son no longer knows them, and has no kind word 
and no grateful service for them, who have cared 
for his children so well. But to-day is Christ- 
mas; to-day every one must be happy. Go, 
Sepp, harness the brown horse to the sleigh. 
You shall take your children home. I will leave 
the rest to you.” 

“May God reward the Magistrate, may God 
reward you a thousand times!” said Sepp, who 
could hardly speak from emotion. “The Magis- 
trate shall surely be pleased with me, just as 
surely as I hope the Lord will be merciful to my 
poor soul!” 


CHRISTMAS 


69 


‘‘Good! good! Now up and away, Sepp, and 
that goes with the sleigh,” and the Magistrate 
pointed to a big bundle lying next the table by 
the children. Sepp took it on his shoulders and 
went out. 

Then all the presents belonging to Stanzeli 
and Seppli were packed together, and the chil- 
dren took their departure, and it was decided 
that in the Spring Seppli and Stanzeli should 
come back again the first fine Sunday, and then 
Lissa and her brothers would also go to Altkirch, 
for they wanted as soon as possible to visit Father 
Klemens with Curly-Head, and thank him for 
his good nursing. 

Then Trina took each child by the hand, to 
tuck them into the sleigh, and the mother called 
out to her again and again: 

“Trina, wrap them up tight in the big sleigh- 
robe so that they will not freeze.” 

In the house, under the Christmas tree, the joy 
and merriment over the many, many wonderful 
gifts spread out there, lasted for a long, long 
time, and above all over the newly returned, 
merry bleating Curly-Head. 

About the time the strong brown horse with 
the sleigh drove away from the Magistrate’s 
house. Father Klemens was coming down from 


70 


LITTLE CURLY-HEAD 


the monastery along the moolit footpath. He 
smiled with satisfaction to himself, as he thought 
of the visit he had made to Rechberg ten days 
before, and how it had been shown that Sepp was 
not so badly off as had been feared. 

Sepp had run away from a master, who had 
treated him badly. The master was a rich and 
important farmer, who wouldn’t put up with this. 
He made a great fuss and brought action against 
Sepp, and so the matter came before the Magis- 
trate, but he said the workman should not be 
abused, no matter who the master was, and Sepp 
could go his way. This much the Father had 
learned from the Magistrate himself, and then he 
told him something about Sepp’s aged parents 
and his two children, and how that Sepp was not 
bad, only frivolous and how, since the loss of his 
wife he had got on the wrong road, and if the 
Magistrate would give him some good advice, he 
could make an impression on him for the better. 
The Magistrate had then promised the Father to 
do so, and afterwards his wife had inquired about 
Willow- J oseph’s household and the children, and 
so one thing led to another. Finally the Father 
had told about the lamb that the children had 
found and was now in his care. Then it sud- 
denly came out to whom the lost lamb belonged. 


CHRISTMAS 


71 


and that it was Curly-Head. Then the Magis- 
trate and his wife showed great delight and they 
commissioned the Father to send the lamb over 
by the children on Christmas day, when they 
would have a festival with a Christmas tree. 

This was an extraordinary joy to the kind 
Father, but he had not said a word about the 
Christmas tree, either to the old people or the 
children, and so he was now smiling quite con- 
tentedly to think of their surprise. And as he 
wanted to see their happy faces, and also hoped 
the old people would be a little happy, he was 
going in the darkness to the willow cottage. 

As soon as he entered the room, the grand- 
mother called out to him: 

“God be praised, that you have come. Father! 
We shall have a word of encouragement. It is 
already so dark, and the children are still on 
the way and have to cross the brook. Oh, I 
hope nothing has happened to them.” 

“No, no. Grandmother,” said the Father in a 
happy voice, “to-day we mustn’t complain; to- 
day there is joy and the holy Christ watches es- 
pecially over the children, and won’t let anything 
happen to them. Now let us have a good talk; 
the time will pass best in that way, and you 
come here too, Joseph, and join us.” 


LITTLE CURLY-HEAD 


72 


Meanwhile Sepp was letting the brown horse 
trot so that the sleigh seemed to fly, for he had 
been seized with such a longing to get home 
again that he couldn’t go fast enough. He had 
not been there for six years, and whenever 
thoughts of home had now and then arisen, he 
had always seen only a great sadness and empti- 
ness, such as he had found when Constance died. 
In order to escape from these thoughts Sepp had 
always gone farther away. But to-day, since he 
had seen his children, everything seemed differ- 
ent, and Stanzeli had brought her departed 
mother so vividly before his eyes, and all the 
happy days he had lived with her and his parents 
in the willow cottage, he thought he couldn’t wait 
until he saw the house and his father and mother 
again. 

Now the sleigh stopped by the willows. Sepp 
lifted his children out, and threw the thick robe 
over the brown horse. Then he took Stanzeli by 
one hand and Seppli by the other and went into 
the house. He was so overcome, that he ran 
sobbing to the bed and cried: 

“Mother! Father! Don’t be angry with me 
any longer, and forgive me. I will truly do what 
I can, so that you will see better days. I know 
very well that you must have had hard times, but. 


CHRISTMAS 


73 


God willing, you shall be better off from this time 
forth.” 

His father and mother had to weep for joy, 
and his mother said between her sobs: 

“Oh, Sepp, Sepp, is it really possible! I never 
believed our Lord God could so change your 
heart, but now I will give praise and thanks as 
long as I have any breath in me.” 

And the father gave his hand to his son and 
said: 

“It is all right, Sepp, everything shall be for- 
given and forgotten, and be welcome. But tell 
how you happened to come with the children, and 
how you are.” 

First Sepp had to press Father Klemens’s 
hand, for he had listened with a quiet smile of 
satisfaction to everything. Then the old people 
learned to their astonishment that the Magistrate 
had engaged Sepp as a farm-servant and had al- 
ready trusted him with their horse and sleigh. 
Since Hans and Trina were going to establish a 
household of their own at New Year’s, the place 
was open for a servant, and Sepp was highly de- 
lighted to take it. 

“And what a place it is! Such a good master 
who can advdse me like a father and besides such 
good wages and so much clothing all the year 


74 


LITTLE CURLY-HEAD 


through, this I know from Hans. But I have 
begged the Magistrate not to give me any of my 
wages yet, so that I can’t spend any of it but 
bring it all to you at the end of the month. Now 
I really have nothing to bring you except good 
will.” 

“That is worth while, and may our Lord God 
give His blessing on it. Amen!” said Father 
Klemens. 

For a long time Seppli had been wandering to 
and fro heavily laden, and could find no place for 
his treasures or attract anyone’s attention to 
them. But now he was able to get to his grand- 
mother’s bed, and soon had it half covered with 
his presents, and when Stanzeli saw this she came 
quickly along and covered the other half with 
hers. Their grandmother’s head looked out 
from the midst of them as if it was a fair, and she 
had to clap her hands for wonder, and say again 
and again: “Is it possible!” 

But when Sepp suddenly brought in the big 
bundle and unrolled it, and three and then four 
beautiful warm blankets came into sight, the 
grandmother could say no more from surprise 
and thankfulness, but kept her hands folded and 
surely was giving silent thanks again and again. 

But the grandfather lifted the hard object 


CHRISTMAS 


75 


which was placed in the middle of the blankets, 
from the floor, and the old man’s eyes shone with 
delight, for his own wish was fulfilled: he held up 
a brand new coffee-mill in his hand. Now at last 
he could grind the coffee properly and prepare 
the drink for the grandmother as it ought to be. 

Such a Christmas evening, full of happiness 
and joy was never celebrated in Willow- Joseph’s 
cottage before. 

Sepp now experienced the longed for pleasure 
of having his children sit trustfully with him, 
Seppli on one knee, Stanzeli on the other, and 
each wanted to know their father better, for since 
they had seen how dear he was to their grand- 
father and grandmother, and belonged so near to 
them, they also loved him and were aware that 
they belonged to him. 

Now Sepp had to go back to Rechberg, but he 
knew that he would soon return and could spend 
every Sunday afternoon with his people, for this 
the Magistrate had told him. 

When he was seated in the sleigh, and was 
ready to drive away, Seppli ran out and cried : 

“Father, wait. I must tell you something!” 
And when his father bent forward, Seppli said 
emphatically in his ear: 

“Father, when you come past the chapel, don’t 


76 


LITTLE CURLY-HEAD 


forget to go in and pray, for you know the dear 
Lord always sends something to you there; at 
first you can’t see it, but later on you do.” 

Seppli had noticed that all the rich gifts of 
this day were connected with the lamb, which 
the dear Lord had led into the chapel for them, 
and he well remembered how he had refused to 
go in. He would never do so again. 

A great intercourse between Rechberg and 
Altkirch is carried on. Sepp is a faithful and re- 
liable servant in the Magistrate’s house, and goes 
eveiy Sunday afternoon to iVltkirch, carrying 
fresh white bread to eat with the coffee. This 
tastes so good to the grandmother, as it comes 
from the new mill, together with other nour- 
ishing things from Rechberg, that she has gained 
new strength. Now she can work around the 
house again, herself, and receive Sepp cheerfully 
in the room put in order for Sunday, with the 
grandfather and the children, and that makes 
Sepp happy all the week, and he says to him- 
self quietly: “Home is the best place, after 
all.” 

From time to time his children go to see him in 
Rechberg, and then there is always a merry day 
for all the children together, and Curly-Head is 


CHRISTMAS 


77 


always by and plays with them, and often when 
it looks up at Lissa, she thinks : 

“Oh, how happy I am once more! Never 
again in all my life will I conceal a wrong in my 
heart!” 


THE END 


BOOKS BY JOHANNA SPYRI 

Translated by Helen B. Dole. 


HEIDI 

Complete Edition 

Illustrations, typography, and binding of this beautiful holiday 
edition of the famous story of a little Swiss girl’s life leave nothing 
to be desired. 16 full-page illustrations in color. 8vo, cloth. 

“This delightful classic has charmed many young readers in the 
past, and since it was first translated ana published in America 
there has been a constant increase of interest. Leading libraries 
list it with the most desirable reading for children, and a Western 
authority ranks it as ‘literature of the first order.’ The scene of 
the story is laid among the rocks and flowers and snows of the 
Alps, and the narrative concett-ns the life of a little girl, who lives 
there in her grandfather’s humble cottage .” — Hartford Courant. 

MONI THE GOAT BOY 

There are some beautiful and vivid descriptions in this little story, 
giving it a peculiar charm. 

THE ROSE CHILD 

Here is another pleasant tale of childhood in Switzerland. The 
story of a little Alpine peasant girl who forgets her own woes in 
helpful service for others. 


WHAT SAMI SINGS WITH THE BIRDS 

A pleasant story with an uplift of faith and an appeal to right 
living that make it a worthwhile book to place in the bands of 
any child. 


LITTLE MISS GRASSHOPPER 

“A delightful little story with an Alpine setting, by the author 
of ‘Heidi.’ Told with the same charm as her previous books.” 
— Independent. 

CURLY HEAD— THE PET LAMB 

An Alpine Christmas tale illustrating God’s loving mercy and 
the Christ spirit at Christmas tide. 

Each volume, 8vo cloth. 

Illustrated in color by Charles Copeland. 


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Little Miss Grasshopper 

By Johanna Spyri, author of “Heidi.” Trans- • 
lated by Helen B. Dole. With 4 illustra- 
tions in color by Charles Copeland. 8vo, 

The well-known au- 
thor of “Heidi ” long 
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children, has written 
several shorter sto- 
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This time it is the 
Gemini Pass which 
serves as the scene 
for a simple but 
pretty tale. Rita is a 
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“Grasshopper,” b e - 
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of going by leaps 
and bounds than by walking. Her father 
rents a cottage for the summer high up in 
the Alps, and to the child and her sister it 
is enchanted land. Every day is filled with 
new delights, and reveals still different fields 
to explore. Then one day a neighbor boy 
shows Rita a brilliant red flower, and filled 
with longing she starts upon the quest of 

others. Night falls and she does not return. 
Searching parties are sent out but fail to find 
her. When hope is all but given up, the 

neighbor boy says that he can find her — and 
he does indeed lead them to her rescue, but 
not until his father undertakes a perilous de- 
scent over the cliffs. How the rescuers are 
rewarded, and how the boy obtains the one 
great wish of his life, are told in the direct, 
pleasing way familiar to all who have read this 
author’s previous books. She does not waste 
a single word, and yet manages to convey a 
wealth of atmosphere to every situation. 


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